Electronic device having display and surrounding touch sensitive surfaces for user interface and control

ABSTRACT

An electronic device has a display and has a touch sensitive bezel surrounding the display. Areas on the bezel are designated for controls used to operate the electronic device. Visual guides corresponding to the controls are displayed on the display adjacent the areas of the bezel designated for the controls. Touch data is generated by the bezel when a user touches an area of the bezel. The device determines which of the controls has been selected based on which designated area is associated with the touch data from the bezel. The device then initiates the determined control. The device can have a sensor for determining the orientation of the device. Based on the orientation, the device can alter the areas designated on the bezel for the controls and can alter the location of the visual guides for the display so that they match the altered areas on the bezel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/970,571,filed May 3, 2018, (now U.S. Publication No. 2018-0253172, published onSep. 6, 2018), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/724,753, filed May 28, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,983,742, issuedon May 29, 2018), which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/486,710, filed Jun. 17, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,047,009,issued Jun. 2, 2015), which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/426,078, filed Jun. 23, 2006, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,656,393,issued on Feb. 2, 2010), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/367,749, filed Mar. 3, 2006 (U.S. PublicationNo. 2006-0197753, published on Sep. 7, 2006), which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/658,777, filed Mar. 4, 2005and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/663,345, filed Mar. 16,2005, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety for all purposes.

This application is also related to the following applications, whichare all herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for allpurposes: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/188,182, entitled“Touch Pad for Handheld Device,” filed on Jul. 1, 2002, (now U.S. Pat.No. 7,046,230, issued on May 16, 2016); (2) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/722,948, entitled “Touch Pad for Handheld Device,” filed on Nov.25, 2003, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,495,659, issued on Feb. 24, 2009); (3)U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/643,256, entitled “Movable Touch Padwith Added Functionality,” filed on Aug. 18, 2003, (now U.S. Pat. No.7,499,040, issued on Mar. 3, 2009); (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/654,108, entitled “Ambidextrous Mouse,” filed on Sep. 2, 2003, (nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,808,479, issued on Oct. 5, 2010); (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/840,862, entitled “Multipoint Touch Screen,”filed on May 6, 2004 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,663,607, issued on Feb. 16,2010); (6) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/903,964, Untitled“Gestures for Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed on Jul. 30, 2004,(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,479,122, issued on Jul. 2, 2013); (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, entitled “Mode-Based Graphical UserInterfaces for Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed on Jan. 18, 2005,(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,239,784, issued on Aug. 7, 2012); and (8) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/057,050, entitled “Display Actuator,”filed on Feb. 11, 2005, (now abandoned); (9) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/115,539, entitled “Hand-Held Electronic Device with MultipleTouch Sensing Devices,” filed Apr. 26, 2005, (now U.S. Pat. No.7,800,592, issued on Sep. 21, 2010).

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject matter of the present disclosure relates to an electronicdevice having a display and a surrounding touch sensitive bezel for userinterface and control.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

There exist today many types of hand-held electronic devices, each ofwhich utilizes some sort of user interface. The user interface typicallyincludes an output device in the form of a display, such as a LiquidCrystal Display (LCD), and one or more input devices, which can bemechanically actuated (e.g., switches, buttons, keys, dials, joysticks,joy pads) or electrically activated (e.g., touch pads or touch screens).The display is typically configured to present visual information suchas text and graphics, and the input devices are typically configured toperform operations such as issuing commands, making selections, ormoving a cursor or selector of the electronic device. Each of thesewell-known devices has considerations such as size and shapelimitations, costs, functionality, complexity, etc. that must be takeninto account when designing the hand-held electronic device. In mostcases, the user interface is positioned on the front face (or frontsurface) of the hand-held device for easy viewing of the display andeasy manipulation of the input devices.

FIGS. 1A-1F are diagrams of various hand-held electronic devicesincluding for example a telephone 10A (FIG. 1A), a PDA 10B (FIG. 1B), amedia player 10C (FIG. 1C), a remote control 10D (FIG. 1D), a camera 10E(FIG. 1E), and a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 10F (FIG. 1F).In each of these devices 10, a display 12, which is secured inside thehousing of the device 10 and which can be seen through an opening in thehousing, is typically positioned in a first region of the electronicdevice 10. Each of these devices is also include one or more inputdevices 14, which are typically positioned in a second region of theelectronic device 10 next to the display 12.

To elaborate, the telephone 10A typically includes a display 12 such asa character or graphical display, and input devices 14 such as a numberpad and in some cases a navigation pad. The PDA 10B typically includes adisplay 12 such as a graphical display, and input devices 14 such as astylus based resistive touch screen and buttons. The media player 10Ctypically includes a display 12 such as a character or graphic displayand input devices 14 suchas buttons or wheels. The iPod® media playermanufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. is one exampleof a media player that includes both a display and input devicesdisposed next to the display. The remote control 10D typically includesan input device 14 such as a keypad and may or may not have a characterdisplay 12. The camera 10E typically includes a display 12 such as agraphic display and input devices 14 such as buttons. The GPS module 10Ftypically includes a display 12 such as graphic display and inputdevices 14 such as buttons, and in some cases a joy pad.

Such prior art devices 10A-10F often employ a user interface inconjunction with the display 12 and input device 14. In one example,FIG. 2A shows an electronic device 20, such as a portable media player.The electronic device 20 has a display 24 and an input device 26according to the prior art. The display 22 can show various forms ofinformation (e.g., menu items, song titles stored in memory, etc.) of auser interface. The display 24 and input device 26 used in conjunctionwith the user interface allows the user to make selections (e.g., selecta song), to operate functions of the device (e.g., play, stop, or pausea song, etc.), and to perform other functions. In this device 20, theinput devices 26 is a “click wheel,” such as used on an iPod® mediaplayer manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

The electronic device 20 has a housing 22 that contains the display 24and the input device 26. The input device 26 typically requires a numberof components, such as pressure pads, printed circuit board, integratedcircuits, etc. Accordingly, the housing 22 for the electronic device 20must typically be extended or enlarged beyond the size of the display 24so that the electronic device 20 can accommodate the components of theinput device 26. Consequently, due to the required components for theinput device 26, the size of the housing 22 may in some cases be largerthan is actually required to house just the display 24 and any othernecessary components (i.e., processor, memory, power supply, etc.) forthe device 20. In addition, placement of the display 22 and the inputdevice 26 typically accommodate only one orientation of the device 20when held by a user.

In another example, FIG. 2B shows another electronic device 30 having adisplay 34 and an input device 36 according to the prior art. Theelectronic device 30 can be a laptop computer or the like, and the inputdevice 36 can be a touch pad used to control functions of the device 30,such as moving a cursor, making selections, etc. The touch pad 36 ispositioned on a housing 32 of the device 30 in conjunction withconventional components of a keyboard 38 and other physical inputs. Thetouch pad 36 can be categorized as either “resistive” or “capacitive.”In the resistive category, the touch pad 36 is coated with a thinmetallic electrically conductive layer and a resistive layer. When thetouch pad 36 is touched, the conductive layers come into contact throughthe resistive layer causing a change in resistance (typically measuredas a change in current) that is used to identify where on the touch pad36 the touch event occurred. In the capacitive category, a first set ofconductive traces run in a first direction on the touch pad 36 and areinsulated by a dielectric insulator from a second set of conductivetraces running in a second direction (generally orthogonal to the firstdirection) on the touch pad 36. The grid formed by the overlappingconductive traces creates an array of capacitors that can storeelectrical charge. When an object (e.g., a user's finger) is broughtinto proximity or contact with the touch pad 36, the capacitance of thecapacitors at that location changes. This change can then be used toidentify the location of the touch event.

In yet another example, FIG. 2C illustrates an electronic device 40having a touch screen display 44 according to the prior art as an inputdevice. The electronic device 40 is a Personal Digital Assistant or thelike. The touch screen display 44 is positioned on a housing 42, and theelectronic device 40 typically has some physical controls 46 on thehousing 42. A stylus 48 is used to touch locations of the touch screendisplay 44 to perform various functions. The stylus 48 is typically usedlike a mouse and arrow, and the display 44 can show various menu itemsand other user interface features. Touching a menu item on the display44 with the stylus 48 can generate a pop-up or window 45 in which theuser can then make a selection with the stylus 48. The pop-ups orwindows 45 overlay the content being displayed and tend to obscure it.

Recently, traditionally separate hand-held electronic devices have begunto be combined in limited ways. For example, the functionalities of atelephone have been combined with the functionalities of a PDA. Oneproblem that has been encountered is in the way inputs are made into thedevice. Each of these devices has a particular set of input mechanismsor devices for providing inputs into the device. Some of these inputmechanisms are generic to all the devices (e.g., power button) whileothers are not. The ones that are not generic are typically dedicated toa particular functionality of the device. By way of example, PDAstypically include a touch screen and a few dedicated buttons while cellphones typically include a numeric keypad and at least two dedicatedbuttons.

Thus, it is a challenge to design a device with limited input mechanismswithout adversely affecting the numerous possible functions that thedevice can perform. As will be appreciated, it is preferable not tooverload the electronic devices with a large number of input mechanismsas this tends to confuse ‘the user and to take up valuable space, i.e.,“real estate.” In the case of hand-held devices, space is at a premiumbecause of their small size. At some point, there is not enough space onthe device to house all the necessary buttons and switches, etc. This isespecially true when considering that all these devices need a displaythat typically takes up a large amount of space on its own. To increasethe number of input devices beyond some level, designers would have todecrease the size of the display. However, this will often leave anegative impression on the user because the user typically desires thelargest display possible. Alternatively, to accommodate more inputdevices designers may opt to increase the size of the device. This, too,will often leave a negative impression on a user because it would makeone-handed operations difficult, and at some point, the size of thedevice becomes so large that it is no longer considered a hand-helddevice.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is an improved user interface thatworks for multi-functional hand-held devices.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An electronic device has a display and has a touch sensitive bezelsurrounding the display. Areas on the bezel are designated for controlsused to operate the electronic device. Visual guides corresponding tothe controls are displayed on the display adjacent the areas of thebezel designated for the controls. Touch data is generated by the bezelwhen a user touches an area of the bezel. The device determines which ofthe controls has been selected based on which designated area isassociated with the touch data from the bezel. The device then initiatesthe determined control. The device can also have a sensor fordetermining the orientation of the device. Based on the orientation, thedevice can alter the areas designated on the bezel for the controls andcan alter the location of the visual guides for the display so that theymatch the altered areas on the bezel if the orientation of the devicehas changed.

The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potentialembodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, preferred embodiments, and other aspects ofsubject matter of the present disclosure will be best understood withreference to a detailed description of specific embodiments, whichfollows, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIGS. 1A-1F are diagrams of various electronic devices according to theprior art.

FIG. 2A illustrates an electronic device having a display and usercontrols according to the prior art.

FIG. 2B illustrates an electronic device having a display and a touchpad according to the prior art.

FIG. 2C illustrates an electronic device having a touch screen displayaccording to the prior art.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a substantially full screen hand-helddevice with a limited number of buttons according to certain teachingsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a front view of the hand-held device of FIG. 3A with at leastone button.

FIG. 3C is a diagram of a graphical user interface separated into astandard region and a control region for the electronic device of FIG.3A.

FIG. 3D illustrates an exemplary media player interface for theelectronic device of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an electronic device having adisplay and a touch sensitive bezel according to certain teachings ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates components of the electronic device ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process of operating the touch sensitive bezel inflow chart form.

FIG. 7 illustrates a process of operating the electronic device in flowchart form.

FIG. 8 illustrates a process of operating the electronic device havingan orientation sensor in flow chart form.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate an electronic device with an orientation sensorin two different orientations.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of an electronic device capable ofdisregarding certain types of touch data.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of an electronic device having a touchsensitive bezel around the display and having addition touch sensitivepads incorporated throughout various sides of the housing for thedevice.

FIG. 12 illustrates some other possible bezel arrangements for anelectronic device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 13A illustrates an embodiment of a touch sensitive bezel having aplurality of conductive pads, a control module, and sensors according tocertain teachings of the present disclosure, and FIG. 13C is analternative embodiment of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13B illustrates a circuit diagram of portion of the control modulefor the touch sensitive bezel of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of a touch sensitive bezel havingforce detection and location layers according to certain teachings ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 15 through 19 illustrate an embodiment of a multimedia devicehaving a touch sensitive bezel and a user interface according to certainteachings of the present disclosure.

While the subject matter of the present disclosure is susceptible tovarious modifications and alternative forms, specific embodimentsthereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are hereindescribed in detail. The figures and written description are notintended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner.Rather, the figures and written description are provided to illustratethe inventive concepts to a person skilled in the art by reference toparticular embodiments, as required by 35 U.S.C. § 112.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/426,078, which has beenincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses electronicdevices capable of configuring user inputs based on how the devices areto be used. The electronic devices may be multi-functional hand-helddevices. The electronic devices have a user interface that requires no(or at most only a few) physical buttons, keys, or switches so that thedisplay size of the electronic devices—can be substantially increased.Preferably, the electronic devices eliminate such physical buttons,keys, or switches from a front surface of the electronic device so thatadditional surface area becomes available for a larger display on theelectronic device. Ultimately, this strategy allows the electronicdevice to house a substantially full screen display. As used herein, afull screen display is a display that consumes, or at least dominates, asurface (e.g., a front surface) of the electronic device.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a multi-functional hand-held device 50having a housing 52 and a substantially full screen display 60. Toaccommodate the full screen display 60, the multi-functional hand-helddevice 50 is preferably configured with a limited number of physicalbuttons. Because a limited number of physical buttons are provided, thedisplay 60 of the hand-held device 50 preferably uses a touch screen asthe primary input mechanism for the electronic device 50. The touchscreen of the display 60 is a transparent touch sensing mechanism thatis positioned over or incorporated into the display 60. Typically, thetouch screen display 60 works in conjunction with a graphical userinterface (GUI) presented on the display 60. For example, the GUI maypresent an on-screen button or user control on the display 60, and thetouch screen display 60 may detect when a user presses the on-screenbutton (e.g., places their finger or stylus over the on-screen button).Aspects of the touch screen display 60 and GUI for the electronic device50 are described in greater detail below.

The hand-held device 50 may be constructed with only cross-functionalphysical buttons, i.e., there are no buttons dedicated to individualdevice functionalities. These types of buttons may include power buttonsand hold switches. In another embodiment, the hand-held device 50 maynot include any physical buttons at all. In some embodiments, thephysical buttons are limited to only the sides 56 and back surface 58 ofthe hand-held device 50. In other embodiments, the physical buttons ofthe handheld device 50 are limited to the upper and lower portion of thesides 56 so that there are no buttons in the regions of the sides 56where a user would physically support the device 50 (i.e., holdingregion). In still other embodiments, the physical buttons may be locatedon the front surface 54, but only in the bezel 55 surrounding thedisplay 60. In some embodiments, the buttons may be located on only thetop and bottom surfaces 57 of the device 50.

As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3A, there are no physical buttons onthe front surface 54 of the housing 52 so that the front surface 54 canbe used almost entirely for the display 60. Further, because the sidesurfaces 56 are used for grasping the device 50, it may be preferred toleave the sides surfaces 56 free from buttons to prevent accidentalactions in the event a user inadvertently presses a button whilesupporting the device 50. Although the top and bottom surfaces 57 wouldnot typically be used to hold the device 50, these surfaces 57 are notideal locations for buttons that are often actuated because it would beawkward to reach these buttons when operating the device 50 with onehand. Instead, the top surface 57 may be reserved for buttons that havelimited action and generic functions that are cross-functional, forexample, power and hold switches. The top and bottom surfaces 57 arealso well suited for placement of I/O and communication ports. The topsurface 57 may, for example, include a headset/microphone jack and anantenna, and the bottom surface 57 may include power and data ports.

In some cases, it may be desirable to place buttons in the upper orlower regions of the side surfaces 56 out of the way of the graspinghand of the user. This may be particularly well suited when the housing52 of the device 50 is elongated more than the standard width of auser's grasping hand. As shown in FIG. 3B, the hand-held device 50includes a button 53 in the upper region on the right side surface 54 ofthe housing 52. Because the button 53 is in the upper region, it tendsto be out of the way of the grasping hand and therefore accidentalactivation is substantially eliminated. In one embodiment, the upperbutton 53 may be configured to switch the functionality of themulti-functional device 50. For example, by pressing the button 53, anew device functionality is activated, and the current devicefunctionality is deactivated. Although the term “button” is used, itshould be appreciated that the button 53 may correspond to a dial,wheel, switch, or the like.

As discussed above, the touch screen display 60 typically works inconjunction with a GUI presented on the display 50. The GUI shows usercontrols on the touch screen display 60, which in turn responds to usertouches made in regions of the touch screen display 60 corresponding tothe displayed user controls. The entire touch screen display 60 or onlya portion may be used to show the user controls. Referring to FIG. 3C,for example, a GUI 70 for the electronic device 50 of FIG. 3A isseparated into a standard region 72 and a control region 74 on the touchscreen display 60. The standard region 72 represents what would normallybe displayed on the display 60 when using the electronic device 50. Thatis, any standard GUI screens associated with the device 50 are displayedin the standard region 72. For example, when the device 50 is operatedwith a PDA functionality, a main menu (window with a set of icons),calendar, address book or date book may be displayed in the standardregion 72.

On the other hand, the control region 74 virtually represents thosephysical controls 76 that would normally be physically placed on aparticular type of electronic device. That is, the virtual controls 76displayed in the control region 74 essentially mimic physical controlsfor a particular type of device. For example, when the device 50 isoperated with a PDA functionality, the control region 74 may includevirtual representations of a hand writing recognition area, a navigationpad, and the standard function buttons. The standard and control regions72 and 74 can be positioned at any position on the display 60 (top,bottom, sides, center, etc.). For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, thecontrol regions 72 and 74 may be positioned vertically relative to oneanother (one on top of the other) on the display 60.

In another example, FIG. 3D is a diagram of a GUI 80 that can be usedwith the electronic device 50 when operated in a music playerfunctionality. Again, the GUI 80 is divided into a standard region 82and a control region 84. Located inside the control region 84 are avirtual scroll wheel 86 and five virtual buttons 88. Additional detailson a virtual scroll wheel 86 are provided in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/038,590, entitled “Mode-Based Graphical User Interfaces forTouch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed on Jan. 18, 2005, which has beenincorporated herein by reference.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 3A-3D, the electronic device 50 includes thetouch screen display 60. In additional embodiments, the electronicdevice 50 according to certain teachings of the present disclosure mayincorporate one or more touch sensitive surfaces (not shown) on thehousing 52 of the electronic device 50 itself. These touch sensitivesurfaces (not shown) can provide a large surface for tracking touchinputs or can provide small-dedicated areas, such as touch buttons, forperforming dedicated functions. Furthermore, the one or more touchsensitive surfaces can be used in addition to or in the alternative tothe touch screen display 60 discussed in the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3D.

The touch sensitive surfaces may be located on any surface of thehousing 52, any side of the housing 52, any portion of any side of thehousing 52, or at dedicated locations on the surface of the housing 52.For example, the touch sensitive surfaces may be located on the sides 56or back surface 58 of the housing 52 and may even be located at thebezel (55; FIGS. 3A-3B) located at the front surface 54 of the housing52. In all of these cases, a large portion of the front surface 54 ofthe housing 52 is saved for the display 60 so that the viewing area ofthe hand-held electronic device 50 can be maximized.

The touch sensitive surfaces of the housing 52 may take the form of oneor more touch panels that are positioned within the housing 52. Thetouch sensitive surfaces may be alternatively or additionally beprovided directly by the housing 52. That is, the touch sensingcomponents of the touch sensitive surfaces may be integrated into,incorporated into, or disposed underneath the housing 52 such that thehousing 52 itself is touch sensitive and forms part of the touchsensitive surfaces (rather than using a separate touch panel). Similarto a touch screen, such touch sensitive surfaces recognize touches andthe positions of the touches on the surfaces. The electronic device 50has circuitry (not shown), which can include a controller or the like,and the circuitry interprets the touches and thereafter performs actionsbased on the touch events. Touch sensitive surfaces can be constructedin the same manner as a touch screen, except the surfaces need not besubstantially transparent. By way of example, the touch sensitivesurfaces for the electronic device 50 may generally correspond to thetouch sensitive housing described in detail in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/115,539, entitled “Hand-Held Electronic Device with MultipleTouch Sensing Devices,” filed Apr. 26, 2005, which has been incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Having a display 60 that encompasses almost the entire front surface 54of the housing 52 of the electronic device 50 has several advantagesdiscussed herein. In addition, having one or more touch sensitivesurfaces on various portions of the housing 52 that allows a user tocontrol the electronic device 50 can also provide several advantagesdiscussed herein. As alluded to above, one or more touch sensitivesurfaces can be located on the bezel 55 (i.e., the portion of the frontsurface 54 of the housing 52 that surrounds the display 60). Turningthen to FIG. 4, an embodiment of an electronic device 100 having a touchsensitive bezel 120 according to certain teachings of the presentdisclosure is illustrated. As will be discussed in more detail below,the touch sensitive bezel 120 is used for user interface and control ofthe electronic device 100 and is used in conjunction with a graphicaluser interface operating on the device 100.

The electronic device 100 includes a housing 102 and a display 110. Thehousing 102 holds the display 110, which can be any conventional displayknown and used in the art for electronic devices. Some common examplesfor the display 110 include a Liquid Crystal display (LCD), anelectroluminescent display, and a touch screen display. The housing 102also holds the touch sensitive bezel 120, which is positionedsubstantially around the perimeter of the display 110. (In the presentembodiment, the bezel 120 is positioned entirely around the perimeter ofthe display 110 so that the bezel 120 essentially frames the display110.) The housing 102 of the electronic device 100 also containselectronic components that provide a number of operations and features,such as memory access, communications, sound, power, etc. In addition,the electronic device 100 houses electronic components (discussed inmore detail below) that are used to control operation of the display 110and the bezel 120.

In one example, the electronic device 100 can be a picture frame havingmemory for storing digital pictures and for viewing on the display 110.In another example, the electronic device 100 can be a digital mediadevice having the display 110, the touch sensitive bezel 120, andlacking most or all buttons or similar physical controls on the housing52. In other examples, the electronic device 100 can be an electronicgame, a personal digital assistant, a multimedia device, a cellulartelephone, a portable video player, a portable navigation device, or thelike.

The bezel 120 is touch sensitive and is used to obtain touch data fromthe user in response to touch events made by the user on the bezel 120.The electronic device 100 uses the touch data obtained with the bezel120 to perform various operations and functions related to userinterface and user control of the device 100. For example, the touchdata obtained with the bezel 120 can control what is displayed with thedevice 100, what files are played, what the volume level is, what thesettings for the display 110 are, etc.

A number of techniques can be used to obtain touch data with the touchsensitive bezel 120. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the bezel120 includes a multi-touch input surface capable of generating touchdata for a plurality of touch events made by the user simultaneously atdifferent locations of the bezel 120. For example, the bezel 120 caninclude a capacitive sensor array and data acquisition circuitry fordetecting when a user touches areas or location s on the bezel 120. Thecapacitive sensor array and data acquisition circuitry can be similar tothose disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/949,060, filedSep. 24, 2004 and entitled “Raw Data Track Pad Device and System,” whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. An example of suchan embodiment for the bezel 120 is discussed below with reference toFIGS. 5 and 6. During operation, the multi-touch input surface of thebezel 120 can be used to generate touch data that can be recognized astouch gestures discussed in more detail later.

In another embodiment, at least a portion of the bezel 120 includes aplurality of resistive or capacitive sensors and an integrated circuitfor analyzing resistive or capacitive values caused by a user touchingthe bezel 120. An example of an embodiment for such a bezel 120 isdiscussed below with reference to FIGS. 13A and 13B. In yet anotherembodiment, at least a portion of the bezel 120 includes force detectionlayers as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,080,filed Mar. 30, 2006 and entitled “Force Imaging Input Device andSystem,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Anexample of such an embodiment for the bezel 120 is discussed below withreference to FIG. 14.

During operation of the device 100, areas or location s of the bezel 120are designated. for various user controls of the device 100. In oneembodiment, particular user controls designated for areas of the bezel120 may be indicated directly on the bezel 120 itself using graphics,words, or the like. In such an embodiment, the user controls/havingindications directly on the bezel 120 may be fixed and may be those usercontrols that a user would typically use when operating the device 100in any of the possible modes or functionalities of the device 100. Inanother embodiment, particular user controls designated for areas of thebezel 120 may not have any visual indications appearing directly on thebezel 120 itself. Instead, the designated user controls may be in alogical or predetermined location on the bezel 120 that the user mayknow or expect.

In yet another embodiment, the electronic device 100 has user interfacesoftware or an application for displaying icons, menu items, pictures,or words (referred to herein as “visual guides”) 180 on the display 110.The visual guides 180 correspond to the user controls designated forareas or locations of the bezel 120 and are shown on the display 110adjacent designated areas on the bezel 120. By way of example, thevisual guides 180 in FIG. 4 include “Menu,” “Power,” “Left,” “Select,”“Right,” etc. It will be appreciated that the visual guides 180 andtheir arrangement depicted in FIG. 4 are only exemplary. More or fewervisual guides 180 may be provided, and the size of the visual guides 180can be larger or smaller than the scale depicted in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the visual guides 180 are preferably located nearthe perimeter of the display 110 so that the majority of the display 110can be dedicated to showing content or the like. Preferably and as shownin FIG. 4, the visual guides 180 are superimposed over visual data(e.g., content, text, a picture, video, etc.) shown on the display 110.The visual guides 180 can be displayed consistently on the display 110while the electronic device 100 is operating. Alternatively, the visualguides 180 may not be shown in most circumstances during operation andcan be displayed only after the user touches a predetermined portion ofthe bezel 120 or makes some user configured preference, or moves thedevice 100.

During operation, the user can touch designated areas (e.g., outlinedarea—121) on the bezel 120 to initiate user controls for the electronicdevice 100. Some examples of possible user controls include menuoperations, cursor operations, and data entry operations. The userinterface software operating on the display 110 shows the visual guides180 in positions adjacent the areas 121 on the bezel 120 designated toperform the user controls so the user may know the general area of thebezel 120 designated for the corresponding user control indicted by theadjacent visual guide 180. The designated areas 121 can be arbitrarilypositioned and sized around the bezel 120 depending on the context orcontent of what is being displayed. The number of distinct areas 121that can be designated depends on the size of the display 110 and thebezel 120 and depends on what type of touch sensitive sensors are usedfor the touch sensitive bezel 120. In one example, one edge of the bezel120 that is about 4 to 5-inches in length may accommodate aboutone-hundred distinct areas that can be designated for user controls.

In a further embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be capable ofrotation and may have an orientation sensor (discussed in more detailbelow) for determining the orientation of the device 100. Based on thesensed orientation, the areas 121 on the bezel 120 designated for theuser controls can be altered or relocated to match the currentorientation of the device 110. Likewise, the user interface softwareoperating on the device 100 can alter the location of the visual guides180 to match the current position of the areas 121 on the bezel 120designated for the user controls.

Now that details related the electronic device 100, display 110, andbezel 120 for user interface and control have been discussed above inFIG. 4, we now turn to a more detailed discussion of components for anelectronic device of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, components of an embodiment of an electronic device200 according to certain teachings of the present disclosure areschematically illustrated. Some of the components of the electronicdevice 200 are not shown in FIG. 5 but will be apparent to one skilledin the art. For example, the electronic device 200 may include a housingand conventional components, such as power circuitry, a centralprocessing unit, memory, and the like. In one example of a conventionalcomponent, for instance, the memory can store data, software, etc. andcan include random access memory, read-only memory, or both.

The electronic device 200 includes a housing (not shown), a display 210,display circuitry 212, a capacitive sensor array 220, data acquisitioncircuitry 230, and processing circuitry 240. The display 210 ispositioned on the housing (not shown) and has a perimeter. Thecapacitive sensor array 220 is also positioned on the housing (notshown) and is positioned substantially around the perimeter of thedisplay 210 so that the capacitive sensor array 220 forms part of abezel for the display 210. The data acquisition circuitry 230 is coupledto the capacitive sensor array 220 and is used to acquire touch datafrom the array 220. The processing circuitry 240 is coupled to the dataacquisition circuitry 230 and to the display 210.

As will be explained in more detail below, the processing circuitry 240is configured to obtain touch data from the data acquisition circuitry230, determine if at least one user control is invoked by the obtainedtouch data, and initiate at least one operation for the electronicdevice 200 based on the determined user control. The processingcircuitry 240 includes a processor 250 and includes one or moresoftware/firmware components that operate on the processor 250. Thesecomponents include a display driver 251, a sensor driver 253, and systemand/or user applications 260.

The applications 260 have one or more user controls 262 that a user caninvoke by touching one or more areas of the capacitive sensor array 220in order to change or control operation of the electronic device 200. Todetermine which user control 262 is invoked, the processing circuitry240 designates one or more areas 221 of the capacitive sensor array 220for the one or more user controls 262 of the applications 260. Then,when a user touches one or more areas 221 of the capacitive sensor array220, the data acquisition circuitry 230 provides touch data to theprocessing circuitry 240. The capacitive sensor array 220 and dataacquisition circuitry 230 is preferably capable of generating touch datathat describes more than one simultaneously touched areas 221 on thebezel 220 so that the touch data can cover instances when the usertouches one area only, touches more than one area simultaneously, ormakes a pattern or gesture of touches on the array 220.

In turn, the processing circuitry 240 compares the obtained touch datato the one or more designated areas and determines which of the usercontrols 262 has been invoked by the user. The comparison of obtainedtouch data to the designated areas 221 may involve different levels ofprocessing. In one level of processing, the processing circuitry 240compares the location (e.g., rows and columns) that the obtained touchdata occurred on the array 220 to the designated areas 221 for the usercontrols. If the obtained touch data occurs in the designated area 221for a satisfactory time period or over an average extent of the area221, for example, then the processing circuitry 240 determines that thecorresponding user control has been invoked.

In other levels of processing, the obtained touch data can include oneor more location s (e.g., rows and columns) being touched on the array220, can include touch data obtained over an interval of time, caninclude changes in touch data over time, and can include other“aggregate” forms of touch data. In this level of processing, theprocessing circuitry 240 recognizes “touch gestures” from the touch dataand determines which control is invoked by the “touch gesture.” Someexamples of “touch gestures” include a single “tap” at a location of thearray 220, two or more sequential taps made at substantially the samelocation of the array 220 within predefined intervals of one another,touch events occurring substantially simultaneously at two or morelocation s of the array 220, sliding touches of one or more fingers bythe user over the surface of the array 220, sustained touch at onelocation of the array 220 in conjunction with sliding or tapping touchesat other location s of the array 220, and other combinations of theabove.

To recognize such “touch gestures,” one or more areas 221 of the array220 are associated with a control 262, and touch gestures involving oneor more touches on those areas 221 are associated with the control 262.The touch gesture can be a single momentary tap, a sustained touch, twoor more sequential taps, a sweep of a finger,” and any other possibletouch arrangement. To then determine if the control 262 has beeninvoked, the processing circuitry 240 determines if the touch dataincludes those areas 221 associated with the control 262 and determinesfrom the touch data if the touch gesture associated with the control 262has occurred on those areas 221.

Turning from discussion of the capacitive sensor array 220, theprocessing circuitry 240 is also operatively connected to the display210 by display circuitry 212. The display driver 251 is used toconfigure visual data (e.g., content, screens, user interface elements,visual guides, etc.) and to send or present the visual data to thedisplay circuitry 212. The electronic device 200 preferably presents oneor more visual guides 280 along the perimeter of the display 210. Inaddition, the one or more visual guides 280 are preferably displayed atlocation s on the display 210 adjacent to corresponding areas 221 of thecapacitive sensor array 220 designated for the one or more user controls262 associated with the one or more visual guides 280.

Given the overview of the electronic device 200 discussed above, we nowturn to a more detailed discussion of the components of the electronicdevice 200 of the present embodiment. The capacitive sensor array 220includes a plurality of rows and columns of capacitive sensors, and thearray 220 may or may not be symmetrical. The rows and columns of thearray 220 are positioned around the perimeter of the display 210.

The data acquisition circuit 230 includes multiplexer (“MUX”) circuitrycoupled to the sensor array 220. In particular, two multiplexer circuits232-1 and 232-2 (referred to as the MUX-1 and MUX-2 circuits) arecoupled to the rows of the sensor array 220. Each row in the sensorarray 220 can be electrically coupled to a reference voltage Vcc throughthe MUX-1 circuit 232-1 and can be electrically coupled to a storagecapacitor 236 through the MUX-2 circuit 232-2. While not shown indetail, each column of sensor array 220 can be similarly coupled to areference voltage Vcc and to a storage capacitor using column MUXcircuits 234. Thus, a user touching a location or area 221 of the sensorarray 220 can alter the capacitance measured at affected rows andcolumns of the array 220.

During operation, the MUX circuits 232 and 234 are responsible forcoupling and stimulating successive elements of the sensor array 220(e.g., rows, columns, or individual pixels—that is, an element at theintersection of a row and column) to the storage capacitor 236 in acontrolled/sequenced manner and indicating that a measurement cycle hasbegun to the scan circuit 238. When the charge on storage capacitor 236reaches a specified value or threshold, the scan circuit 238 records thetime required to charge the storage capacitor 236 to the specifiedthreshold. Consequently, the scan circuit 238 provides a digital valuethat is a direct indication of the capacitance of the selected elementof the sensor array 220.

The sensor driver 240 obtains measured capacitance data from theacquisition circuitry 230. In turn, the sensor driver 240 processes themeasured capacitance data and configures a corresponding control,command, operation, or other function designated by the row and columnlocation of the capacitance data. Depending on what application,content, or the like is currently operating, the system application 260and/or user application 262 implements the corresponding user control262. Implementation may affect what is currently being displayed on thedisplay 210. Consequently, the display driver 214 may operate thedisplay circuitry 212 coupled to the display 210 in response to animplemented control 262. For example, a new menu may be presented on thedisplay 210 in response to an implemented user control 262.

As shown in FIG. 5, the electronic device 200 can also include one ormore sensors 270 coupled to the processing circuitry 240. The one ormore sensors 270 can include a Mercury switch, an acceleration sensor,inclinometer sensor, an electronic compass, a light sensor, a motionsensor, or an orientation sensor. In one embodiment, the orientationsensor 270 is a 3-G accelerometer similar to what is used in gyroremotes or used in hard drives to detect free fall. The accelerometer270 detects gravity and generates orientation data that can indicatewhich edge of the display 210 is ‘up,” “down,” “north,” or otherdirection. The processing circuitry 240 coupled to the accelerometer 270determine the orientation of the electronic device 200 from theorientation data obtained from the sensor 270. The determinedorientation can then be used to designate or alter the location of theareas 221 on the array 220 to match the orientation of the device 200.In addition, the determined orientation can then be used to designate oralter the location of the visual guides 280 on the display 210 to matchthe newly designated areas 221 on the array 220. Furthermore, thedetermined orientation can then be used to rotate or flip the contentshown on the display 210 to match the orientation of the device 200.Details related to how the electronic device 200 can use orientationdata are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A-9B.

In another embodiment, the one or more sensors 270 can include one ormore ambient light sensors for detecting the level of ambient lightaround the device 200. Preferably, the device 200 includes at least twosuch ambient light sensors 270 for redundancy. Based on the level ofambient light detected, the electronic device 200 can automaticallyadjust the contrast and/or brightness of the display 210 accordingly. Inyet another embodiment, the one or more sensors 270 can include a motionsensor, such as a passive pyroelectric sensor. The motion sensor 270 canbe used to detect motion of the electronic device 200 from a stationarystate so that the device 200 can “wake up” (e.g., turn on or come out ofa standby mode) or can show previously hidden visual guides 280 on thedisplay 210 in response to being moved.

Referring to FIG. 6, a process 300 of operating the electronic devicehaving the capacitive sensor array 220 of FIG. 5 for the touch sensitivebezel is illustrated in flow chart form. For better understanding,element numerals for components of FIG. 5 are concurrently provided inthe discussion that follows. During operation, the MUX-1 circuitry 232-1couples a first row of the sensor array 220 to the reference voltage Vccfor a specified period of time (Block 302) and then isolates ordisconnects that row from Vcc (Block 304). Next, the MUX-2 circuitry232-2 couples the same row to the storage capacitor 236 for a specifiedperiod of time, or until the voltage on storage capacitor 236 reaches aspecified threshold (Block 306).

While the MUX-2 circuitry 232-2 couples the selected sensor row to thestorage capacitor 236, a determination is made whether the storagecapacitor's voltage reaches a specified threshold (Block 308). If so(i.e., the “Yes” prong of Block 308), the digital value corresponding tothe time it took to charge the storage capacitor 236 to the specifiedthreshold is recorded by the scan circuit 238 (Block 310). If thestorage capacitor's voltage does not reach the specified thresholdduring the time that the MUX-2 circuitry 232-2 couples the selectedsensor row to the storage capacitor 236 (i.e., the “No” prong of Block308), then the acts of block 302-308 are repeated.

Once a digital value corresponding to the capacitance of the selectedrow has been obtained (Block 310), a check is made to see if there areadditional rows in the sensor array 220 that need to be sampled. If morerows need to be sampled, the process 300 goes to the next row at Block314 and repeats the acts of Blocks 302-308. If it is determined at Block312 that all the rows in the sensor array 220 have been sampled inaccordance with Blocks 302-308, a similar sampling process is used toacquire a capacitance value for each column in the sensor array 220(Block 316). Once all rows and all columns have been processed, theentire process 300 is repeated, which can be done at a predeterminedinterval (Block 318).

Referring to FIG. 7, a process 400 of operating the electronic device ofFIG. 5 is illustrated in flow chart form. For better understanding,element numerals for components of FIG. 5 are concurrently provided inthe discussion that follows. During operation, areas 221 on the array220 of the touch sensitive bezel are designated for user controls of theelectronic device (Block 402). In designating an area 221, contiguousrows and columns of a portion of the capacitive sensor array 220 areassociated with a user control for the electronic device 200. Theelectronic device 200 also generates visual guides 280 for the usercontrols (Block 404) and displays the visual guides 280 on the display210 adjacent the designated areas 221 on the touch sensitive bezel 220to which the visual guides 280 correspond (Block 406). For example, thevisual guides 280 are preferably displayed along the perimeter of thedisplay 210 adjacent corresponding rows and columns of the capacitivesensor array 220 associated with the user controls for the electronicdevice 200. In this way, the majority of the display 210 can be used toshow content.

The electronic device 200 then obtains touch data with the capacitivesensor array 220 using the techniques disclosed herein (Block 408). Thetouch data in a basic form includes information of which rows andcolumns of the capacitive sensor array 220 have been touched (i.e., haveexceeded the capacitance threshold). The electronic device 200 performsvarious forms of processing of the obtained touch data. For example, thetouch data can be processed to determine how long the rows and columnshave reached a threshold capacitance, to determine how long rows andcolumns have been below the threshold capacitance since an initialperiod of being above the threshold, and to determine other forms ofinformation. Furthermore, to facilitate processing, the touch data canbe aggregated together into predefined intervals of time and portions ofthe array 220. In addition, the touch data obtained at a first instancecan be stored and later compared to touch data obtained at a subsequentinstance to determine changes in the data overtime, caused by a user'stouch movement on the array 220, for example. These and other forms ofprocessing of the touch data will be apparent to one skilled in the artwith the benefit of the present disclosure.

After the touch data has preferably been processed with the techniquesdescribed briefly above, the electronic device 200 then compares theinformation from the touch data to the designations on the array 220associated with the user controls for the device 200 (Block 410). Fromthe comparison, the electronic device 200 determines which user controlis invoked by the designated area 221 of the array 220 that the user hastouched (Block 412). Then, the electronic device 200 initiates thedetermined user control to affect processing of the device 200 (Block414). Once the user control is implemented, it may be necessary toupdate the display 210 and the designated user controls (Block 416). Ifthe same visual guides 280 and designated user controls can be used,then the process returns to Block 408, for example, to obtain any newtouch data with the array 220. If, however, new visual guides 280 anddesignated user controls are needed due to a change in the content ofwhat is displayed or the context of the device's operation, then theprocess returns to Block 402 to designate new areas on the array 220 foruser controls and proceeds to subsequent steps.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the touch sensitive array220 around the perimeter of the display 210 of the device 200 can beused to implement various user controls in some ways similar to how aconventional touch pad is used. In a brief example, the information atBlock 410 may indicate a “tap” made by the user on the array 220. This“tap” (i.e., a touch by a finger on the array 220 for a “short” durationof time) may have been performed in designated area 221 of the array220. The electronic device 200 determines that the area 221 invoked bythe “tap” is designated for performing a “page up” control of what isbeing displayed on the device 200. The time duration of the “tap” mayindicate the amount or extent of the “page up” control. In response tothe user control, the electronic device 200 causes what is being shownon the display 210 to page up as requested by the user.

As noted briefly above, the electronic device 200 of FIG. 5 can includeone or more sensors 270, which can include an accelerometer or otherorientation sensor Referring to FIG. 8, a process 430 of operating theelectronic device of FIG. 5 having the orientation sensor 270 isillustrated in flow chart form. For better understanding, elementnumerals for components of FIG. 5 are concurrently provided in thediscussion that follows. Initially, the electronic device 200 obtainsorientation data from the sensor 270 (Block 432). The electronic device200 can obtain the orientation data at periodic intervals or at certainpoints during operation. The electronic device 200 then determineswhether the orientation of the device has changed (Block 434). If not,the process 500 can end.

If the orientation has changed at Block 434, the electronic device 200determines how the orientation has changed and alters the designation ofareas for user controls of the touch bezel (Block 436). In particular,the processing circuitry 240 alters how the one or more areas 221 of thecapacitive sensor array 220 are designated for the one or more usercontrols 262 so that the designation better matches the new orientationof the device 200. In addition, if the display 210 is showing visualguides 280 for the corresponding areas 221 of the bezel 220, then theelectronic device 200 also alters location of the visual guides 280 onthe display 210 so that they match the newly designated area 221 for theuser controls on the array 220 (Block 438). Then, the process 430 canend until called again during the operation of the electronic device200.

By way of example, FIG. 9A shows an electronic device 450 having contenton the display 460. The device 450 is rectangular and can be oriented ineither a “portrait” or a “landscape” orientation. Accordingly, thedisplay 460 can show a picture or other content in either orientation.In some circumstances, the orientation of what is displayed may notmatch how the device 450 is currently orientated. The user may rotate orchanges the orientation of the device 450, for example, to theorientation shown in FIG. 9B. The orientation sensor 490 is used todetermine the new orientation (i.e., rotation of 90-degrees), and theprocessing circuitry (not shown) of the device 450 determines that theareas 471 designated on the bezel 470 for certain user controls of theelectronic device 450 should be changed. Accordingly, the processingcircuitry alters the designation of the areas 471 of the bezel 470 sothat they will better match the newly sensed orientation of the device450. In addition, because the electronic device 450 can display visualguides 480 relative to the designated areas 471 of the bezel 470, theprocessing circuitry also alters location of the visual guides 480 onthe display 460 so that their new location s match the new location s ofthe designated areas 471 of the bezel 470.

For example, the area 471A of where the “Left” control 480 in FIG. 9Awill remain on the same side 454 of the device 450 as shown in FIG. 9B.Yet, the “Left” control 480 is preferably orientated along the newbottom edge 456 of the device 450 so that—it is in a position moreamenable to the user. Thus, the old area 471A is no longer designatedfor the “Left” control. Instead, a new area 421B of the bezel 470 isdesignated for the “Left” control 480, and the visual guide 480 for the“Left” control is displayed in the appropriate position of the display470 along the new bottom edge 456 to match the new designated area 471B.

In the example of FIGS. 9A-9B, orientation data from the orientationsensor 490 is used to alter the designation of the areas 471 for theuser controls and the location of visual guides 480. In otherembodiments, the orientation of the content to be displayed may dictatehow the designation of the areas 471 for the user controls and thelocation of visual guides 480 should be for the device 450. For example,the display 460 of the electronic device 450 in FIGS. 9A-9B isrectangular and can be used to show content in “portrait” or “landscape”orientations. Depending then on the desired or required orientation forparticular content (e.g., image, screen, user interface, or picture) tobe shown on the display 460, the electronic device 450 can alter thedesignation of the areas 471 for the user controls and the location ofvisual guides 480 according to the “portrait” or “landscape”orientations of. the content. In other words, when the device 450 ispreparing to display particular content, the electronic device 450 candetermine the particular orientation for that content. Then, when thedevice 450 switches to show that new content on the display 460, theelectronic device 450 alters the designation of the areas 471 for theuser controls and the location of visual guides 480 if the orientationof the newly displayed content is different from that previouslydisplayed. Thus, the user can naturally rotate the device 450 to betterview the newly displayed content in its preferred orientation (e.g.,“portrait” or “landscape”), and the visual guides 480 and designatedareas 471 will be already matched to the content's orientation.

Turning to FIG. 10, the electronic device 500 of the present disclosurecan also be configured to discriminate or ignore certain forms of touchdata made on the bezel 520. For example, the housing 502 of theelectronic device 500 may be designed to fit mainly around the display510 and the surrounding bezel 520. As a result, when a user holds theelectronic device 500, it may be likely that portion of the user's hand(e.g., one of the user's fingers or thumb) will maintain consistentcontact on portion 522 of the bezel 520. In this instance, it isdesirable that the electronic device 500 ignores such consistent contactmade on the bezel 520. The processing circuitry (not shown) of thedevice 500 can store information tracking how long touch data hasoccurred on portions of the bezel 520 and/or how many adjacent,designated areas have had repeated touch data. Then, after a predefinedtime limit, the processing circuitry can begin to ignore that consistenttouch data in the portion 522 of the bezel 520 when determining whatuser controls the user is implicating. Furthermore, the processingcircuitry can designated new location s for areas of the bezel 520 foruser controls that are part of the ignored portion 522 of the bezel 520.In the present example, the areas 524 and “526 for the “page up” andpage down” user controls on the left side of the bezel 520 have beenmoved to new location s outside the ignored portion 522. Likewise, thevisual guides 512 associated with the “page up” and page down” usercontrols have been shifted to new locations adjacent to the newlydesignated areas 524 and 526.

In previous embodiments of the present disclosure, the touch sensitivebezel of the present disclosure is arranged substantially around theentire perimeter of the display. In one alternative shown in FIG. 11, anembodiment of an electronic device 530 can have a touch sensitive bezel550 around a display 540 just as before. In addition, the electronicdevice 530 can have one or more additional touch sensitive pads orsurfaces 560 incorporated throughout various sides of the housing 532for the device 530. These additional touch sensitive pads 560 can beused to detect location caused by a user touching the pads 560 and/orcan be used to detect force caused by a user pressing the pads 560. Theadditional touch sensitive pads 560 can be positioned along edges of thehousing 532 and can be positioned on the back of the housing 530.

Any user controls designated for areas 562 on these additional touchsensitive pads 560 may be preconfigured and may not be change duringoperation. In this way, the user may know the functionality of thevarious pads 560 and can use the areas 562 to control features of thedevice 530 without the need of any visual guides 542 on the display 540.Alternatively, the user may be able to designate any user controls forthese additional touch sensitive pads 560 using setup and configurationoperations of the device 530. In yet another alternative, user controlsfor areas 562 of these additional pads 560 can be designated andre-designated by the electronic device 530 during operation in much thesame way disclosed herein for areas 552 on the bezel 550. For example,areas 562 on the pads 560 can be designated for user controls similar tothe areas 552 that can be designated on the bezel 550, and visual guides542 can be displayed around the perimeter of the display 540 adjacent tocorresponding areas 562 on the additional pads 560 in the same way thatthe visual guides 542 are displayed adjacent designated areas 552 of thebezel 550.

In FIG. 11, for example, the area 552 on the bezel 550 can be designatedto adjust values, and the areas 562 of the adjacent side pad 560 can bedesignated to select various attributes of the display 540. Because thedevice 530 can be hand-held, the user can selected from the variousattributes—by touching an area 562 on the side pad 560 with the handused to hold the device 530, and the user can then adjust the value forthe selected attribute by touching the area 552 on the bezel 550 with afinger of the other hand. The side pad 560 can be either a large surfacefor tracking touch inputs or can includes a plurality of small dedicatedsurfaces, such as touch buttons, for performing dedicated functions. Inyet an another alternative, the additional pads 560 can also be forcesensitive so that a predetermined amount of force or pressure caused bya user touch is required to invoke the user control associated with thetouched areas 562 of the pads 560.

In additional alternatives shown in FIG. 12, a touch sensitive bezel 590according to the present disclosure can be arranged in a housing 572around at least a portion of a display 580 of an electronic device 570.In general, the bezel 590 can include one or more discrete touchsensitive surfaces positioned in the housing 572 adjacent one or moresides of the display 580. On device 570A, for example, the bezel 590 hasa plurality of discrete touch sensitive surfaces positioned in thehousing 572 adjacent each side of the display 580. On device 570B, forexample, the bezel 590 has a first and second touch sensitive surfacepositioned in the housing 572 adjacent three sides of the display 580and has a second touch sensitive surface positioned in the housing 572adjacent one side of the display 580. On device 570C, for example, thebezel 590 has first and second touch sensitive surfaces positioned inthe housing 572 adjacent opposing sides of the display 580. These andother alternative arrangements are possible for touch sensitive bezelsaccording to the present disclosure.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the touch sensitive bezel of electronicdevice 200 has been described as having capacitive sensor array 220 thatis used with data acquisition circuitry 230. As alluded to above,however, a touch sensitive bezel for an electronic device according tothe present disclosure can include other forms of touch sensitivecircuitry. Referring to FIG. 13A, another embodiment of a touchsensitive bezel 620 for an electronic device 600 is illustrated. Onlyportion of the touch sensitive bezel 620 is illustrated in FIG. 13A, andthe housing, display, and other components of the electronic device 600are not shown for illustrative purposes. In the present embodiment, thetouch sensitive bezel 620 includes a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 622formed into a ring or frame shape and defining an inner opening 624 inwhich components of the display (not shown) for the electronic deviceare positioned. A plurality of conductive pads 626 are formed on the PCB622, and each pad 626 is interconnected by a resistive element (notshown) according to details discussed below. The PCB 622 in thisembodiment can have dimensions of approximately 8 by 10-inches and canhave about 100 pads 626 formed around its perimeter.

The touch sensitive bezel 620 also includes a control module 630, whichis housed in the electronic device and is shown here relative to the PCB622 for illustrative purposes. The control module 630 is connected tothe pads 626 of the PCB 622 by connections (not shown). The controlmodule 630 has a plurality of components, including an infrared sensor,communication circuitry, accelerometer/inclinometer sensor, and othercomponents. A suitable infrared sensor is an RE200B pyroelectric passiveinfrared sensor. A suitable accelerometer/inclinometer sensor is a KXP84IC.

The electronic device 600 can also have a plurality of ambient lightsensors 604 and a plurality of infrared (IR) modules 606, which are alsoshown here relative to the control module 630 for illustrative purposes.A suitable ambient light sensor is an ISL29001 light-to-digital sensor.The ambient light sensors 604 can be positioned in various location s onthe housing of the electronic device and behind the display. The ambientlight sensors 604 detect the level of ambient light near the display sothat the electronic device can adjust the contrast, brightness, orbacklighting of the display accordingly.

In FIG. 13B, a schematic diagram of components 632 comprising portion ofthe control module 630 of FIG. 13A is illustrated. The components 632 inthis portion include a QT510 Interacted Circuit 634 available fromQuantum Research Group, Ltd. The QT510 IC 634 is connected at threeapproximately equidistant points 636A, B, and on the pad element 620,which is shown here schematically. Operation and arrangement of QT510 IC634 and the pad element 620 is similar to that used for the QWheel™available from Quantum Research Group, Ltd. However, in at least oneexception, the QWheel™ has 18 pads formed into a concentric wheel withresistors of about 15K positioned between each pad and a totalresistance of about 270 k. In contrast, the present embodiment of thepad element 620 has about 100 pads formed as a frame for the display ofthe device. The 100 pads are interconnected by about 100 resistors. Eachresistor has a resistance of about 2.67 k so that the pad element 620has a total resistance of about 270 k.

In an additional embodiment, the operation and arrangement of IC 634 andthe pad element 620 of the present disclosure can use techniquesdisclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0032680,entitled “A Method of Increasing Spatial Resolution of Touch SensitiveDevices,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, toexpand the detected sensitivity of the pad element 620.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13A, the pads 626 are formed on PCB 622.In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 13C, pads 628 can be formedas layers on a surface of a display 610 for the electronic device 600.For example, techniques associated with Indium oxide doped with tinoxide (referred to herein as ITO techniques) can be used to deposit thepads 626 as transparent conductive thin layers on the surface of thedisplay 620. In this way, the touch sensitive bezel of the device 600 isessentially the perimeter of the display 610, and the housing 602 ispractically consumed by the display 610. In addition, a touch sensitivewheel 650 having a plurality of pads 652 can also be deposited as on thedisplay 610 using ITO techniques to provide additional user controls ofthe electronic device 600.

In FIG. 14, an embodiment of an electronic device 700 having a touchsensitive bezel 720 capable of force and location detection isillustrated. Portion of the touch sensitive bezel 720 is illustrated ina detailed cutaway. In this embodiment, the bezel 720 includes a forcedetector combined with a location detector so that the bezel 720 canprovide both location and force detection. The bezel 720 includes acosmetic layer 730, a substrate 740, a dielectric spring layer 750, anda base or support layer 760. The substrate 740 has a plurality ofconductive drive paths 742 on a “top” side and has a plurality ofconductive sense paths 744 on the “bottom” side. The dielectric springlayer 750 has alternating, or spatially offset, raised structures 752 onboth sides of the layer 750. The base layer 760 has a plurality ofconductive drive paths 762. The drive paths 742 on the substrate 742 arelaid down in a first direction to form rows as are the drive paths 762on the base layer 760. The sense paths 744 on the bottom side of thesubstrate 740 are laid down in a second direction to form columns.

To sense location, the device 700 uses many of the same techniquesdiscussed above with reference to the capacitive sensor array of FIG. 5.During operation, for example, data acquisition circuitry (not shown) ofthe device 700 drives the plurality of drive paths 742 (one at a time)during a first time period. During this same time period, the sensepaths 744 on the other side of the substrate 740 are interrogated toobtain data representing the location of one or more touches to thecosmetic layer 730. For example, a user's finger placed in proximity tovarious rows and columns of the drive paths 742 and sense paths 744 onthe top and bottom of the substrate 740 alters their capacitiverelationship when processed by the data acquisition circuitry.

To sense force, circuitry of the device 700 drives the drive paths 762on the base layer 760 (one at a time) during a second time period.During this same time, the sense paths 744 on the bottom side of thesubstrate 740 are again interrogated to obtain data representing thestrength or intensity of force applied to cosmetic layer 730 by a user'stouch. For example, when a force is applied by a user's finger on thecosmetic layer 730, the spring layer 750 deforms moving the sense paths744 on the bottom of the substrate 740 closer to the drive paths 762 onthe top of the base layer 760. A resulting change in mutual capacitanceis then used to generate data indicative of the strength or intensity ofan applied force. Additional details related to the layers and otheraspects of this embodiment are disclosed in incorporated U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/278,080.

Using force and location detection, the bezel 720 of the presentembodiment can provide additional user interface and controls. Forexample, a user's finger in FIG. 7 is shown touching an area 721 of thebezel 720 designated for a “page down” operation (as indicated by theadjacent visual guide 780). The electronic device 700 uses the sensedlocation on the bezel 720 to determine which control is invoked by theuser's touch. In addition, the force applied by the user's touch isobtained using the force detection features of the bezel 700. The sensedforce can be used to determine the desired speed or extent with which toperform the “page down” operations, for example.

Given all of the previous discussion of the present disclosure, we nowturn to an embodiment of an electronic device that incorporates one ormore of the aspects and features discussed above. In FIGS. 15 through19, an embodiment of a multimedia device 800 having a housing 802, adisplay 810, a touch sensitive bezel 820, and a user interface 900according to certain teachings of the present disclosure is illustratedin a number of stages of operation and use. The multimedia device 800 inFIGS. 15 through 19 is meant to be exemplary. It will be appreciatedthat the user interface 900, available features and functions, usercontrols, screens, designations of the bezel 820, and various otherdetails provided in the discussion that follows may be altered dependingon the implementation and desired results.

In FIG. 15, a menu screen of the user interface 900 is displayed andlists various functions or features 902 (e.g., Music, Photos, Videos,etc.) that are available on the device 800. An area 822 of the bezel 820adjacent a battery symbol 906 can be touched at any point duringoperation to access power settings for the device 800 without the userhaving to access the settings function 902 on the menu screen 900. Aplurality of areas 824 on one side of the bezel 820 are designated forselection of one of the available functions or features 902, and visualguides 904 are provided on the perimeter of the bezel 820 adjacent thedesignated areas 824. A user touching one of these areas 824 of thebezel 820 accesses a subsequent screen of the user interface 900 for theselected function or feature 902. It should be noted that the side ofthe housing 802 may include a touch sensitive pad (similar to pads 560of FIG. 11) on a side of the housing 802, and areas (e.g., areas 562 ofFIG. 11) of this side pad can be similarly designated.

In FIG. 16, the user has accessed the photo feature from the previousmenu so that the display 810 shows a photo screen 910 listing variousavailable photos 912. An area 826 on the left side of the bezel 820 isdesignated for scrolling up and down the list of photos 912, and avisual scroll guide 916 is provided at the perimeter of the display 810adjacent the area 826. A plurality of areas 828 on the right side of thebezel 820 are designated for selecting to open a selected photo 912, andvisual guides 914 for each photo 912 are provided adjacent these areas828. An area 830 in the upper corner adjacent a close window icon 914 onthe screen 910 is designated on the bezel 820 for closing the currentscreen 910 to return to the menu screen of FIG. 15.

In FIG. 17A, the display 810 shows a screen 920 having a selected photo(e.g., sunrise). A toggle area 831 of the bezel 830 in the lower rightcorner is designated to access and display additional user controls thatare discussed below with reference to FIG. 17C. A visual guide 921 isprovided on the display 810 adjacent this toggle area 831. A first area832 on the bezel 820 is designated for moving to a previous photo ofthose available, and a second area 834 is designated for moving to asubsequent photo. Corresponding visual guides 922 are displayed adjacentthese areas 832 and 834 on the bezel 820. Additional areas 836 and 838on adjacent sides of the bezel 820 may be designated for any of a numberof operations, such as zoom □ contrast, brightness, page down, scroll,etc. In the present embodiment, visual guides are not shown adjacentthese areas 836 and 838 so that the majority of the display 810 isunobstructed with elements of the user interface, and the screen 920 canprimarily display the content (i.e., the sunrise photo). The usercontrols for which these areas 836 and 838 are designated may be alreadyknown or readily apparent to the user.

As shown in FIG. 17A, the device 800 is rectangular and is shown in avertical (i.e., “portrait”) orientation. The user may rotate the device800 so that it has a horizontal (i.e., “landscape”) orientation, such asshown in FIG. 17B. As discussed previously, the device 800 can have anorientation sensor (not shown), such as an accelerometer or aninclinometer, and can determine the orientation of the device 800. InFIG. 17B, the device 800 has determined the horizontal or landscapeorientation. Based on this determination, the device 800 has adjustedthe orientation of the screen 920 showing the photo on the display 810in a landscape orientation and has readjusted the location of all theareas on the bezel 820 designated for the various user controls.

If the user selects the toggle area 831 in the lower right corner, thescreen 920 shows additional user controls. In FIG. 17C, for example, thetoggle area 831 has been previously selected so that a new visual guide925 is provided adjacent the area. In addition, a plurality of areas 840on the bezel 820 are designated for a number of user controls, whichhave visual guides 928 shown on the display 810 adjacent the bezel 820.In this example, the user controls available for viewing photos includecontrast, brightness, zoom, and move. A user can select one of theseareas 840 to access that corresponding control. Then, while thecorresponding control is activated (either by highlighting thecorresponding visual guide 928 or while the user continues touching thecorresponding area 840), the user can adjust values or settings for theselected control using one or more areas 842 and 844 on other portionsof the bezel 820. These areas 842 and 844 have adjacent visual guides926 showing that they are used to adjust values. By reselecting thetoggle area 831 in the lower right hand corner, the user can remove thevisual guides 926 and 928 for the user controls from the screen 920.

In FIG. 18, an example screen 930 listing songs is shown on the display810 of the device 800. A plurality of areas 864 on the right side of thebezel 820 adjacent visual guides 934 for the listed songs can be used toselect, highlight, or open the corresponding song. An area 864 on theleft side of the bezel 820 adjacent a scroll guide 934 can be used toscroll through the list of songs on the screen 930. If the user selectsor highlights one of the listed songs, the user can select areas 850 toplay/pause the song or areas 852, 854 to track forward or back from theselected song. These areas 850, 852, 854 have corresponding visualguides 935. The user can also select to add the selected song to a playlist or can elect to view various play lists by selecting fromadditional areas 860 and 862 having visual guides 932. Depending on theamount of area of the display 810 available, one or more user controls938 (e.g., volume level) can be displayed on the screen 930, and one ormore unused areas 868 of the bezel 820 can be designated for the one ormore user controls 938.

In FIG. 19, an example “now playing” screen 940 is shown on the display810 of the device 800. The screen 940 shows information about the songthat is currently being played on the device 800. As before, the area850 on the bezel 820 is designated for play/pause user controls, andareas 852 and 854 are designated for previous track and next track,respectively. A plurality of areas 870 and 872 are provided on the sidesof the bezel 820 adjacent various visual guides 942 corresponding tovarious user controls (e.g., time bar for song, equalizer selection, andvolume level). In one possibility, the user can select to change thesettings or values of any one of these user controls by tapping orholding on the areas 870 or 872 on either side of the adjacent visualguide 942 for a control to advance or reduce the setting or value. Inanother possibility, the user can select or highlight one of the usercontrols by tapping or holding on the areas 870 or 872 on either side ofthe adjacent visual guide 942 for a control, and the user can thenadvance or reduce the setting or value by sliding over an additionalarea 874 of the bezel 820 next to the visual guide 944 foradjustability.

As shown by the example multimedia device 800 of FIGS. 15 through 19,the touch sensitive bezel 820 and the user interface 900 according tocertain teachings of the present disclosure can obtain and processvarious forms of touch data. For example, the touch sensitive bezel 820can be used to sense touch gestures, such as touch and drag operations,made by the user. Using the touch gestures, a user can perform a numberof user controls, such as move portions of an image that are beingdisplayed (e.g., page up or page down), move a cursor to drop and dragvisual elements displayed (e.g., move a holder or file in a directorywindow), scroll up and down through a screen, skip through images in analbum or series of images, adjust the setting or value of a usercontrol, or perform similar operations. In addition, because the touchsensitive bezel 820 can also be configured to detect force, the pressurethat a user applies to a designated area of the bezel 820 can be used todetermine the amount, extent, or level of a setting, adjustment, orvalue of a user control.

Furthermore, the touch sensitive bezel 820 according to the presentdisclosure can be used to obtain touch data corresponding to multipleuser controls simultaneously. For example, the user controls of thebezel 820 can be configured so that one side of the bezel 820 controlsbrightness with a touch and drag motion by the user, while the otherside of the bezel 820 controls contrast with a touch and drag motion bythe user. Thus, using both of these sides of the bezel 820, the user cansimultaneously adjust both the contrast and the brightness of thedisplay 810 using touch and drag motions on the sides of the bezel 820.These and other possibilities and combinations will be apparent to oneskilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure.

The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments showsseveral different configurations of electronic devices. Certainfeatures, details, and configurations were disclosed in conjunction witheach embodiment. However, one skilled in the art will understand (1)that such features, details, and configurations can be used with thevarious different embodiments, even if such features, details, andconfigurations were not specifically mentioned in conjunction with aparticular embodiment, and (2) that this disclosure contemplates variouscombinations of the features, details, and configurations disclosedherein. More specifically, the foregoing description of preferred andother embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope orapplicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants.In exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, theApplicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims.Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims include allmodifications and alterations to the full extent that they come withinthe scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed:
 1. A handheld computing device, comprising: a displayhaving a perimeter; a plurality of touch sensors formed for making atleast a portion of the display and at least a portion of the perimetertouch-sensitive; and a processor communicatively coupled to theplurality of touch sensors, the processor configured for using one ormore of the plurality of touch sensors to track movement of one or moretouching objects at the perimeter; and initiating an operation based onthe tracked movement.
 2. The handheld computing device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured for detecting a slidingtouch along the perimeter, and initiating the operation based on thesliding touch.
 3. The handheld computing device of claim 2, wherein theprocessor is further configured for detecting a touch in at least aportion of the touch-sensitive display, and initiating the operationbased additionally on the touch in the touch-sensitive display.
 4. Thehandheld computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured for programmably selecting the operation to be initiated upondetection of the tracked movement of the one or more touching objects atthe perimeter.
 5. The handheld computing device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured for causing a visual guide to bedisplayed on the display upon detection of the one or more touchingobjects at the perimeter.
 6. The handheld computing device of claim 5,wherein the processor is further configured for causing the visual guideto be displayed in proximity to a location of the one or more touchingobjects at the perimeter.
 7. The handheld computing device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured for altering the initiatedoperation based on a time of the tracked movement.
 8. The handheldcomputing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configuredfor programmably defining one or more areas of the touch-sensitiveportions of the perimeter to detect and track the movement of the one ormore touching objects.
 9. A method of initiating an operation in ahandheld computing device including a display having a perimeter,comprising: making at least a portion of the display and at least aportion of the perimeter touch-sensitive; tracking movement of one ormore touching objects at the perimeter; and initiating an operationbased on the tracked movement.
 10. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising detecting a sliding touch along the perimeter, and initiatingthe operation based on the sliding touch.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising detecting a touch in at least a portion of thetouch-sensitive display, and initiating an operation based additionallyon the touch in the touch-sensitive display.
 12. The method of claim 9,further comprising programmably selecting the operation to be initiatedupon detection of the tracked movement of the one or more touchingobjects at the perimeter.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprisingcausing a visual guide to be displayed on the display upon detection ofthe one or more touching objects at the perimeter.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising causing the visual guide to be displayed inproximity to a location of the one or more touching objects at theperimeter.
 15. The method of claim 9, further comprising altering theinitiated operation based on a time of the tracked movement.
 16. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising programmably defining one or moreareas of the touch-sensitive portions of the perimeter to detect andtrack the movement of the one or more touching objects.
 17. A method ofinitiating an operation in a handheld computing device, comprising:configuring a perimeter area of a touch screen of the handheld computingdevice for gesture control; detecting a sliding touch along theperimeter area; and initiating an operation based on the detectedsliding touch.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising detectinga touch in at least a portion of the touch screen, and initiating theoperation based additionally on the detected touch in the touch screen.19. The method of claim 17, further comprising programmably selectingthe operation to be initiated upon detection of the sliding touch. 20.The method of claim 17, further comprising causing a visual guide to bedisplayed on the touch screen upon detection of the one or more touchingobjects at the perimeter.